The International Economic Consequences of Mr. Trump

What has fundamentally changed with the Trump administration is not that it behaves more selfishly than its predecessors, but that it seems unconvinced that the global system serves US strategic interests. For the rest of the world, the key question is whether the global system is resilient enough to survive its creator’s withdrawal.

PARIS – This year’s World Economic Forum in Davos proved to be yet another opportunity for US President Donald Trump’s administration to display its customary verbal incontinence and send shockwaves through the global economy. This time, there were two sources.

The first shock came from US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who broke with more than two decades of strict discipline by suggesting that a weaker dollar would be in America’s interest. The second came from Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who seemed to rejoice at the prospect of waging and winning a trade war.

For once, it was Trump himself who restored calm by denying that the US was pursuing a beggar-thy-neighbor strategy. But he did so only after his cabinet secretaries’ statements had attracted sharp responses from international partners.

Jean Pisani-Ferry, a professor at the Hertie School of Governance (Berlin) and Sciences Po (Paris), holds the Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa chair at the European University Institute and is a senior fellow at Bruegel, a Brussels-based think tank.

THE INTERNATIONAL CONSEQUENCES OF MR. BRUSSELSJPF cautiously separated Mr Trump from Uncle Sam.In articulating the inevitability of Global leadership - JPF is honest.But France and Germany are never honest - especially when in Brussels.Given the very reasonable conclusions despite the antipathy to Uncle Sam.The Truth is that The West has enjoyed Peace n prosperity for Seven Decades.The International Consequences of Mr. Brussels - is the canary in the mine.The Anglosphere underwritten era 1945-2015 has ended - as the EU ambushed.Both Brexit and Trump manifest The International Consequences of Mr Brussels.In avoiding the mirror that the European Union needs - JPF is not being honest.The Fall of Constantinople 500 years ago - cannot be resurrected by Brussels.In challenging The Anglosphere - Brussels has triggered Europe's vulnerability.Every 100 years, European challengers inevitably ends in tears.Because meltdowns always manifest The Truth.The Trinity College @ The- City-on-the-Hill is The Truth.

The west has to manage its status as the civilization with the vilest and most sordid past in human history, as well as to manage a small minded, racist and parochial populace, and on top of that, it has to face a probability of exactly one to fade into perfect perpetual irrelevance within a century or two. In the short run protectionism and isolationism is one interesting path to explore for the wesr to hamper human progress, the other limb of the west could test another path, increasing the entertainment potential of the whole process.

Emanuel. I think you will find the attributes you describe are not limited to the West.However as far a civilisation goes Gandhi always provides a smile - What do I think of Western civilization? I think it would be a very good idea.

Another controversial article from the Author, how about the role of Germany, France and the beloved EU Institutions in this whole saga? The Germans have refused for years to contribute and to pay their fair share in NATO (and thereby dodging the system, something they are very good at), saving them few billions and in the process they made billions from the Greeks by selling them defunct sub-marines and other armaments; France ...La France... what can one say, a seat on the UN Security Council, many roles on the world stage and yet still unable to at the very least work alongside the US for a better understanding of world affairs to include trade; the EU Institutions another joke. The G7, the G20, Davos with their newly self declared "Madamme Presidente LaGarde", if they had any use or real purpose, they would have been able to predict and prevent many crises not least the 2008 financial crisis.

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